(A) A host community agreement is a voluntarily entered legal contract between a private waste management facility owner and units of local government. Under such an agreement, the parties work together to effectively address solid waste management needs and concerns. A host community agreement typically includes provisions for the payment of host fees, capacity guarantees, environmental safeguards, and other related concerns and benefits.
(B) Any applicant requesting site location approval for any new or expanded pollution control facility must agree to the following conditions in a host community agreement negotiated with the county and, if appropriate, the siting authority (if the siting authority is not the county but a municipality).The host community agreement must be signed prior to submitting a siting application pursuant to § 39.2 of the state’s Environmental Protection Act, being 415 ILCS 5/39.2. The county’s host community agreement requirements include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) No regulated hazardous waste shall be accepted for processing/final disposal at the facility;
(2) A guarantee of long-term processing/disposal capacity for the county’s non-hazardous solid waste and non-hazardous special waste (contingent upon the facility having proper permits from the IEPA to accept special waste). The length of the processing/capacity guarantee will be agreed upon by the applicant, the county, and the siting authority (if appropriate);
(3) A host fee must be paid by the applicant to the county and the siting authority (if appropriate). The host fee will be calculated on a per ton basis. The per ton host fee will be adjusted annually based on the appropriate consumer price index for the county;
(4) A property value protection program for real estate within a site specific distance (to be negotiated);
(5) A domestic water well protection plan for existing water wells within a site specific distance (to be negotiated) of a new or expanded landfill or an organic and/or mixed municipal waste compositing facility;
(6) An indemnification agreement that will indemnify and hold harmless the county and its officers, agents, and employees from liability associated with any and all operations at the facility;
(7) An assignment of rights clause that will allow the County Board authority to approve or disapprove any transfer of ownership or other interest in the facility;
(8) If the facility is to be owned by a private individual or corporation, an environment contingency fund or an alternative environmental protection plan must be established to pay for the expenses of environmental clean-up and damages awarded under paragraph;
(9) The environmental contingency fund or environmental protection plan is in addition to the financial assurance requirements of the state and federal regulations;
(10) A procedure, agreed upon by the county, to annually determine the remaining processing/disposal capacity at the facility (as appropriate);
(11) The applicant must allow the county unrestricted access to all non-financial records associated with the facility, as required by state and federal statutes and regulations;
(12) A procedure for enforcing the terms of the host community agreement by both the county and landowners who have rights under the agreement and landowners who have rights under the agreement and the recovery of damages and other relief for individuals who suffer injury caused by any emission from the facility (e.g., dust, noise, runoff, or groundwater contamination). This procedure shall be structured to provide quick and efficient resolution of the issues; and
(13) A performance bond or similar guarantee shall be provided to ensure the performance of the requirements in divisions (B)(4), (B)(5), and (B)(8) above.
(C) After the preliminary host agreement has been negotiated, the text of the proposal shall be made public and a public hearing will be held. The applicant will provide notice of the hearing by first class mail to all residents within one and one-half miles of the proposed facility at least ten days prior to the hearing.
(Prior Code, 6 TCC 7-2)